Users report major problems with Blockbuster Online

Many Blockbuster Online customers are complaining that they haven't received …

Reports are surfacing that Blockbuster Online has ground to a screeching halt, with customers telling Ars that they have not been receiving movies from their queues for over two weeks. According to one customer, repeated calls to customer service were fruitless—when he could get through—and it was only earlier this week that a customer service representative told him that their mail rental system was shut down and that they expected a fix shortly.

We contacted Blockbuster to confirm the story, and a company spokesperson denied that there were any problems. "We've been continually shipping product," the spokesperson told Ars. "If a customer feels like they are not getting a movie, they should follow up with our customer service. But in terms of product being allocated and shipped, there has been no interruption."

That's not the story we—and others—are hearing from Blockbuster. DVDRR.com, a DVD rental review site, has in recent days been hit with a number of comments from Blockbuster Online customers who in some cases, haven't received any movies for weeks.

"My experience is similar," writes Mike from Texas. "I have the 3 at a time plan. I turned my three movies in to the store 8 days ago and they still haven't shipped me any new movies although I have about 30 available in my queue. The customer service reps keep giving me a story about a technical glitch. The only thing this company can do competently is charge my credit card for the monthly fee. I will be canceling my membership before my next renewal."

One e-mailer told Ars that despite the assurance of the customer service reps, he has yet to receive any movies. They did, however, credit him for two weeks of lost service and provide him with "a bunch" of free rental coupons.

Is Blockbuster being forthcoming about problems with its rental service? The official company line is definitely much different from what its users are reporting, but it is understandable if the company is fearful of admitting to significant service interruptions. After all, Blockbuster is engaged a tough battle against Netflix, the market leader in online rentals.

Blockbuster has tried incentives such as its Total Access plan to increase its subscriber base, and in January, the brick-and-mortar chain announced with great fanfare that its online service was up to 2 million paying subscribers after adding 500,000 new users during the last quarter of 2006. Impressive gains, yes, but still way behind Netflix's 6 million subscriber base. Since that time, Netflix has launched a download service while Blockbuster reportedly continues its flirtation with Movielink. Given the high stakes, it's no wonder Blockbuster seems determined to keep reports of lengthy service interruptions quiet.

Update

Blockbuster has confirmed to Ars that some users have been experiencing problems. In a statement, the company told us that a "very small number of customers" may have seen delayed DVD shipments. "By and large these customers all have one thing in common," a Blockbuster spokesperson told Ars. "They selected the 'Report a DVD Issue' button for a returned DVD which not yet cleared their rental queue, and this may have inadvertently caused a delay in receiving their next movie."

Blockbuster has since corrected the problem and is sending out notifications to the affected customers, reminding them that the DVD issue button is only to be used if there is a problem with a DVD they receive via Blockbuster Online.